Miranda Class
2271 saw Starfleet faced with a dilemma; their fleet of Miranda Class vessels was slowly becoming obsolete. Vessels that were barely ten years old were being outpaced, outgunned and simply outperformed by vessels developed in recent years. General dissatisfaction with how the class was now performing was grounds for the ASDB to call for a refit and re-commission all Miranda Class vessels. The refit of the Miranda Class came as a shock to no one, although its timing was a surprise, with Starfleet choosing to refit the Miranda at the same time as the Constitution Class, which was by itself one of the most ambitious refit programs ever. As a result, Miranda Class vessels came into the docks right alongside the Constitution Class vessels and received similar upgrades. While not quite as significant as the Constitution upgrades, the Miranda Class still underwent extensive changes, including, but not limited to, entirely new computer systems, a replacement propulsion system comparable to the new Constitution Class design, and a new sensor suite. The USS Kane was the first vessel out of dry dock and she performed exceptionally well, surpassing the designers intentions and projections. One of the best, albeit unfortunate, examples of the Miranda's new found performance came during the Genesis Project experiments of 2278. A small group of genetically-enhanced augments led by Khan Noonian Singh boarded and took over the USS Reliant. With this vessel, Khan attacked and disabled the heavier Constitution Class Refit USS Enterprise, under the command of Admiral Kirk, in a daring surprise attack. The Reliant suffered minor damage in the conflict from phaser fire only after Admiral Kirk used Reliant's prefix code to disable her shields. Khan then headed to Regula One, stealing the Genesis Device and killing a majority of the scientists stationed there. In the battle for the Genesis device, Khan and his Miranda were defeated only by superior strategy on the part of Admiral Kirk, and Khan was still able to detonate the Genesis device in the middle of the Mutara Nebula, with the Enterprise left barely able to escape. After the turn of the century the Miranda Class was a common sight and helped form the backbone of the Federation fleet, alongside the Excelsior Class. Serving as both explorers and cruisers, the Miranda Class fleet aided with the exploration of the galaxy for nearly five decades until Starfleet finally decided to pull the plug on the class and replace it. Upgrades in starship technology since the Miranda Class' original commission allowed for a ship of similar size to be twice as advanced, twice as fast and twice as powerful. By 2365, 90% of the Miranda fleet had been retired and decommissioned. However, when conflict with the Dominion broke out, large portions of the Miranda fleet were recommissioned and upgraded as much as possible to help defend the Federation. After the end of the war most of the fleet was mothballed once again, but a number of ships were still put to use in a variety of roles, serving as cargo vessels, explorers, escorts to task groups and freighter lines, and assigned to starbases in direct protection duty. By 2385, though, most of these vessels were retired as well and very few Mirandas remain in service. Category:Federation Classes